In Your World
by Elephantian
Summary: A man gets stuck in the world of RENT, and Mark gets stuck in the 'real world'. Can they find their way home, and if they can, will they even want to go back?
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I'm going to say this upfront- I hope you like this. I used this idea for sentences on a vocabulary test. I liked it so much, I decided to make it into a story. Marc is actually based off of my teacher (his name is actually Mark, and he doesn't like RENT either. It's kinda scary, because Mark Cohen looks like a cross between this other teacher and the real Marc. It freaks me out SO much). But, I guess it's only the idea. I dunno if Marc will continue to be based off of my teacher or not, but probably not. I don't own RENT, obviously. Enjoy!**

Marc Kohan hated RENT. Sure, he understood why people liked it, but he didn't like it in the least. There were many, MANY reasons. First off, they poked fun at a very touchy and serious subject. And there were many unnecessary things, mostly pertaining to the characters. Like that stripper. Completely uncalled for! And then there were just the characters in general. One was too much of an extrovert. Another was a work-o-holic. One was stuck up. Another seemed to be an alcoholic. The other was just way too nice. One was too depressed. And those were the least bad. Marc only remembered the name of one character- Mark Cohen, the whiney, pathetic, weak cameraman that shared his name. Heck, he was Marc Kohan way before Mark Cohen was even a thought! Yes, Marc could go on and on about the things he disliked about RENT, but that's not what this story is about, so let's move on.

**ABC**

Marc sighed, rolling his eyes. His wife, being a big animal lover, had brought home a little puppy for a while. _'Just until he finds a home,'_ Marc recalled, remembering the pouty look on his wife's face.

It's not that Marc didn't like dogs, in fact, he liked them very much. It was just that this dog was, well, evil, and it didn't help that his wife had gone out of town for the week. The satanic little pup, Scamp, was adorable, but had already chewed all the furniture beyond repair. And on top of that, Demon Dog had destroyed his memo mate, one of his most prized possessions.

"You are one obnoxious, annoying, demonic flap of fur." Marc mused as Scamp ripped another hole in his good shoes.

Scamp bared his teeth and growled, as if sensing that the man had just insulted him. In a flash, the dog had attacked Marc's feet.

"Ah!" he shrieked, stepping backwards and tripping on a doggie toy.

Before Marc had time to do anything, he fell and hit his head hard on the corner of the coffee table and the world went black.

**DEF**

"Ohhhhhhhh," Marc moaned, rubbing his sore head, "When I get my hands on that dog…"

However, he was interrupted by a somewhat familiar voice. "And he lives!" it said cheerfully.

Marc opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in a shabby loft apartment. He looked at the man sitting on the broken couch. He had long, sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes. Suddenly, it hit him.

_No,_ Marc thought to himself, _This can't be possible…_

"Roger?" Marc asked nervously.

The man smiled. "Who else?"

Marc frowned and mentally groaned. It couldn't be…he was stuck in the world of RENT.

**GHI**

"Owwwwwwww," Mark grumbled, rubbing his temples, "That was some party last night."

Mark was met by a strange surprise when he opened his eyes. How'd he get in such a spacious, nice house? The last thing he remembered was drinking the huge mug of beer that had been shoved in his face at Roger's gig. He wouldn't have even done it if they hadn't taken his camera.

Mark swatted away the cute little puppy nibbling on his shoe before making his way to the bathroom to splash water on his face.

**JKL**

After finally finding the bathroom, Mark froze when he saw himself in the mirror. Well, actually, it wasn't him. It was a middle-aged man with glasses and gelled, spiked hair.

_This can't be good…_ Mark thought to himself.

**MNO**

"So let me get this straight," Roger started, rubbing his chin, "You're not Mark, but your name is Marc and you're in Mark's body."

Marc nodded.

"And you're from the quote-on-quote 'real world'. You were in your house, conked your head on the coffee table and woke up here."

Marc nodded again.

Roger looked at him before asking, "How much beer did you have to drink last night?"

Marc sighed and rolled his eyes. This was going to be tougher than he'd bargained for…


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you guys like this! This is, officially, my humor story. Sorry for the shortness, but that's to be expected. Again, enjoy!**

Mark silently roamed the house, carefully inspecting everything and petting the dog's fur. He couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy as he looked at the smiling faces staring back at him.

One picture, however, really melted his heart. It was the guy's body surrounded by people. He didn't know any of them, obviously, but they all seemed so happy.

Suddenly, Mark heard a sharp ringing noise coming from his pocket. Wide-eyed, he pulled something out of his pocket. It was small and a silvery color.

"What the heck is this?" He asked himself.

The thing seemed to have hinges, so he flipped open the object. It looked like a miniature phone. That was weird. Where were the wires? How was it so small? How the heck did this thing work? And how on earth could it possibly be a phone? He brought the supposed-phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked tentatively.

"Hi Marc, honey, it's Pen," a woman's voice said.

"Pen…?"

"Penelope. Your _wife_." The voice said somewhat angrily.

"Oh, yah. Hi…Pen." Mark said quickly.

"I called to check up on you, honey," she said, "How are you?"

"Um, fine, _sweetheart_," Mark answered as sweetly as he could.

"Well, that's nice," Penelope responded, "I'll call back later. Hey, how's Scamp?"

"Scamp?" Mark asked hesitantly, "Oh! You mean the dog! He's fine."

"Good. For a while I was beginning to believe you hated him or something."

"Nah. Scamp's a good little fella."

"Alright, well, I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye."

Mark closed the 'phone', hoping it would turn off. Hey, this 'Marc' guy lived a pretty good life. He could get used to this. But, as soon as Mark thought about Roger and Collins and the rest of the bohemians, he wished he were home. He just needed to figure out how.

**ABC**

Marc paced around the apartment, wearing a thin line into the dirty floor. He did not want to be here. What about all his cool technology? And Penelope? What would she think? Marc sighed and continued pacing, carefully watching Roger, who was still sitting on the couch, out of the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. "Hey fellas!" Maureen called, "I'm coming in!"

Marc panicked, remembering how spastic Maureen was in the play. "Don't tell her!" he begged to Roger, "Please!"

Roger had a look of superiority in his eyes, but he didn't have a chance to respond before Maureen walked in the loft.


	3. Chapter 3

**It's short, but I wasn't sure of what else to write. I hope you like it!**

"Hey Pookie," Maureen purred, sliding onto Marc's lap and giving his a gentle kiss.

Marc quickly broke away. "I'm married gosh da-" Marc stopped himself when he saw Maureen's confused face. Right. He wasn't in the 'real world' anymore.

"Married?" Maureen asked, "Since when?"

"Uh…uh…since…uh…" Marc stuttered. Gosh, he had really talked himself into a corner this time.

"Since he got that stupid camera," Roger answered, "He's practically married to it. They'd reproduce if they could, but just think of the children!" -Roger made a disgusted face- "Now Maureen, you wouldn't want Marc to be cheating on his camera now would you?"

Maureen laughed and Marc sighed silently with relief. "Aw, it Marky-Warky afraid of cheating on his camera?" The drama queen teased.

It took every muscle in his body to say 'yes'. God no. Marc hated old-fashioned technology. Where was his high-speed Internet? What about his digital camera? His picture phone? He missed those.

"So what're you doing here?" Roger asked, putting down his guitar gently.

"Just came to borrow the hotplate if you don't mind." Maureen answered.

"Be my guest."

Maureen rummaged through the cupboards, found the hotplate and walked merrily out of the loft, humming a little tune under her breath.

Roger picked his guitar back up and began strumming away.

"Why'd you do that?" Marc asked.

"Do what?"

"Cover me."

Roger stopped plucking abruptly and looked at Marc. "I dunno. I guess it's because I know what Maureen's like with crazy stuff like that. And you seemed really desperate. I'll keep your secret, just as long as you don't act like you've got a monkey up your butt the whole time."

Marc rolled his eyes, smiling. "Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

**I like this chapter. It's pretty funny, well, at least I think it is. Enjoy!**

Mark entered the kitchen looking for something to eat, now that there was something edible available. He could really go for a bowl of Captain Crunch.

"What the…?" Mark said, confused. Kashi? Healthy Choice? What kind of crap cereal was this? Where was the heavily frosted, marshmallow-accompanied stuff?

Mark then rummaged through the pantry, cupboards and refrigerator for something that had more than ten calories and a 0.0000000000000000000000001 percent sugar count. Mark sighed with frustration when he found nothing that met his easy requirements.

"I guess beggars can't be choosers," he said sadly to Scamp, who was rolling a ball around.

Biting his lip, Mark pulled the Kashi junk out of the pantry and poured himself a heaping bowl filled to the rim with skim milk. He tentatively brought the spoon to his mouth and took a bite. He chewed it thoughtfully for a while before running to the sink and spitting it out.

"I'd have just as well eaten the box." He mused.

**ABC**

Marc felt, and heard, his stomach growl and rumble with hunger. He got up from the couch and began searching through the kitchen, his expedition becoming more and more desperate with each empty cupboard.

"Hey Roger!" he called, "Don't you have anything to eat?"

"No."

"Then can I have some money to go buy some?"

"Zoom in on my empty wallet."

Marc reached for his own wallet, only to pull out Mark's empty one. "Touché"

"Déjà vu," Roger mumbled inaudibly, shivering slightly. Truth be told, he missed weak, obnoxious Mark. He wanted _his_ Mark, not this uptight sissy. Somehow, he _would_ get the real Mark back; he just had to figure out how.

**DEF**

"C'mon Scamp," Mark said kindly to the pup, "Let's go for a walk to the store."

The dog came running up happily, only too willing to let the man slip on the leash. Though he couldn't put his paw on it, Scamp was sure this man had changed. It was like his soul had been swapped. Scamp barked at his own foolishness. That was impossible.

Mark laughed and checked that his wallet, _full of money_, was still in his pocket before heading out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait and the shortness. I hope you like it!**

Marc tossed and turned in Mark's bed, trying to fall asleep so the pains in his stomach wouldn't hurt as much. But with his stomach rumbling with hunger and Roger playing away on his guitar, Marc wasn't having a lot of luck.

"Could you please play that thing somewhere else?" Marc asked, "Or at least softer?"

Roger didn't say a word, but instead played his beloved guitar even louder.

Marc glared, sighed, and rolled his eyes, trying to mute the sound by putting his pillow over his head. How did Mark ever get used to this?

**ABC**

Mark tossed and turned in bed, trying to fall asleep. But it was hard. His stomach was unusually full and Roger wasn't there, playing his guitar. He gently pulled Scamp onto the bed and stroked his silky fur.

Suddenly, Mark got an idea. He searched the house high and low for a few cassettes, but only found these things called 'CDs' instead. After a few minutes of browsing, he found what he was looking for- a track named 'Musetta's Waltz'.

"Okay," he muttered surveying some sort of device that seemed to play the CD, "How do I work this?"

Luckily, he spied a directions pamphlet on top of the machine and was able to get 'Musetta's Waltz' playing in no time.

The familiar sound of the music filling his ears, Mark soon fell asleep, little Scamp safely in his arms.

**DEF**

Marc soon found himself awake, which must have meant he'd fallen asleep. Still groggy, Marc jolted awake when he felt a wet spot in his bed. While contemplating what it might have been, Marc noticed his fingers were dipped in a glass of water.

"Roger!" he yelled, "You jerk!"

Still fuming, he noticed the note on the little table by his bed.

_Went out. Be back later._

_-Roger_

Marc's face grew red with fury. Stupid Roger had left him all alone in a dangerous neighborhood he wasn't used to without any means of contacting anybody or any food. Some great guy he was.

Suddenly, Marc heard a knock on the door, followed by a voice saying, "Roger? Mark? It's Mimi. Open up! I don't have to work today. Hello?"

"Coming!" Marc yelled without even thinking.

He rushed to get the door and Mimi walked in, plopping herself down on the couch.

"What am I going to do?" Marc mumbled to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Funny story. I was telling my friend about this story because we were sitting in the hall during Spanish because we didn't want to watch 'High School Musical' and we had nothing better to do. So, instead of using the name 'Marc' (because it sounds just like 'Mark') I used the teacher's real name (remember, Marc is based off of our teacher). Well, the next thing I see and hear is the teacher (of whom Marc is based off of) walking by saying 'Be careful what you say'. It was so funny and creepy at the same time! Well, it inspired me to write this chapter. Enjoy (and please don't kill me because of what Mimi does)!**

Marc cringed as he watched Mimi slink over to the broken couch and gracefully sit down. Her eyes widened suddenly.

"Um…Mark…" she whispered, pointing towards his pants.

"Wha…oh." Marc blushed, remembering the cruel prank Roger had played on him. He'd been walking around in wet pants! Marc felt his cheeks turn red.

"You know," she said with a sly smile, "You're cute when you blush."

"Er, sorry," Marc mumbled uncomfortably, "Let me go change."

With that, Marc made his way into Mark's room, searching desperately through drawers for a fresh pair of pants and underwear. Finally he found some and, after stripping down, began to change. As he was pulling on his pants he heard Mimi knock on the door.

"Mark?" she asked, "What's taking so long? Are you okay? I'm coming in."

"No!" Marc yelped, dashing towards the door to try and stop her. But, seeing as his pants weren't all the way up, he tripped and fell hardly on his face…just as Mimi walked in.

"Oh Mark!" Mimi said, blushing and trying to stifle laughter, "I didn't know you had such a nice figure!"

"Ah no!" he cried, reaching for the closest thing to hide behind, which just happened to be his camera, "Get out!"

Mimi laughed as Marc held the camera up, trying desperately to hide behind it. "You know Mark," she mused, "This gives a whole new meaning to 'hiding behind your camera'!"

With that, she walked out and Marc sighed with relief. Thank goodness _that_ was over! He quickly pulled his pants up and reached to the knob to open the door but hesitated. Was he ready to face Mimi after what had just happened?

Before he could do anything, the door slowly swung open to reveal Mimi, her eyes filled with determination. She cornered the very nervous Marc, who was closing his eyes and remembering his dear wife Penelope. Mimi slowly leaned in, her lips puckered.

_Oh gosh,_ Marc thought, his eyes clenched shut, _I'm sorry Penelope._

Just before their lips met, a beeper went off.

"Darn," she muttered, "AZT break. Well, that's down in my apartment. I guess I'll be seeing you later Mark. Oh, don't tell Roger."

And with that she exited the loft.

"Tell Roger?" Marc asked himself, "Tell Roger? I'm not suicidal! Don't worry Mimi, I won't tell. I'd like to _live_, thank you very much!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's short, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted Mark to be doing. Enjoy!**

Marc heard a knock on the door, and he rushed to get it. _Old habits never die I guess_, he thought to himself.

Most unfortunately it was Mimi.

"Oh, hi Mimi," Marc said quickly.

Mimi looked at him curiously before saying, "Who are you and what have you done with Mark?"

Marc was flabbergasted. "Wh…wh…what?"

"You're not Mark," Mimi said simply, "You may be in his body, but you're not Mark. I can tell. So, who are you?"

"I…" Marc stuttered, "I…I'm Marc Kohan, spelled M-a-r-c K-o-h-a-n. I don't know where Mark is, but I can assume he's in my body."

"And where's that?" Mimi asked, "Maybe we can switch you back."

"Another thing," Marc said, "I'm from the year 2006. Technically you don't exist. You're part of a Broadway play, and now movie, called RENT. A man named Jonathon Larson wrote it. And I can't believe I know so much about this, but in the Broadway production you're played by Daphne Rubin-Vega and in the movie you're played by Rosario Dawson."

"So…so I'm not real?" Mimi asked.

Marc nodded. "That's right. You're were created."

Mimi looked stunned. "Well," she said finally, "It's hard for me to grasp the concept that I'm not real, so I won't. But for your sake I'll swallow the idea that you're not Mark. And don't worry I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks," Marc said gratefully, "Though Roger already knows, so it's okay if you talk to him about it."

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Mimi suggested, "It's not like we have anything better to do."

"Well, I have a wife named Penelope. We both love dogs. She's out of town right now. Pen brought home this little puppy named Scamp. He's adorable, but I think he's possessed by the devil. He attacked my feet and I fell over and hit my head on the coffee table, and then I woke up here."

Mimi nodded. "That must have been really confusing."

"It was."

"Hm, I wonder what Mark is doing right now…"


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so sorry for the long wait! To be honest, I kinda forgot about this story. I'm really sorry! Anyway, just a reminder, Mimi and Roger know that Marc is in Mark's body, but they don't know where Mark is. Oh, and these next chapters will be all about Mark's…_adventures_. Enjoy! Oh, and if any of the information about Xbox, Playstation 2 and/or Gamecube is wrong, I'm really sorry. I just went by what I see in stores and what I overhear my brother say.**

Mark woke up feeling very refreshed and well rested.

"You know what," he told Scamp, who was licking his fingers, "I'm going to go shopping! I'm gonna go to the nearest mall and go crazy!"

With that, Mark rolled out of bed and changed into some clean and comfortable clothes. After that he made his way to the kitchen and, having gone grocery shopping the day before, poured himself a heaping bowl of Captain Crunch and filled it to the brim with milk. He quickly guzzled it down and dashed out the door, after making sure his wallet was safely in his pocket. He was anxious to get to the mall and be able to spend as much as he desired.

Luckily, the mall was only a few miles away and, having lived in New York City for so long, Mark was able to get there relatively quickly.

The filmmaker gasped as he entered the large building. He hadn't been to a mall in ages and this place was amazing!

Not sure where to begin, Mark randomly headed towards the nearest shop, which was a videogame store. The man ran about the store like a kid in a candy shop, admiring the advanced-to-him systems of Xbox, Playstation 2 and Gamecube.

"Can I help you?" a man in the store outfit asked, approaching Mark.

Mark nodded. "I'd like to buy one of these," he said, gesturing at the three systems in front of him, "But I'm not sure which. Could you help me?"

The man, whose nametag read 'Pete', nodded. "Sure, we'll each is very different. The Xbox has the most sports games- so if you're into that kind of stuff that system is probably what you want."

Mark crinkled his nose. "I'm not a big sports guy," he mumbled.

Pete nodded. "The Playstation 2 has the largest amount of games, and they vary. The Gamecube has the least amount of games, with a few sports but mostly Mario. There are also quite a few one player games."

"Who's Mario?" Mark asked.

Pete pulled a game off of the rack and pointed to a little man in a red cap, blue overalls and had a brown mustache. "This is Mario, and he has a whole bunch of friends."

Mark smiled. He liked the look of this guy. "I'll take the Gamecube," he said.

Pete nodded. "Well, pick a color and a few games and I'll hook you up with controllers and a memory card free of cost."

"Thanks!" Mark said, turning around to face the giant wall of Gamecube games.

Finally, he chose Super Mario Sunshine, Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart Racing: Double Dash, and Donkey Konga. He brought the games up to the counter, and Pete rang them up along with his bright red Gamecube.

Pete named the price and Mark simply handed him a credit card, smiling all the while. He couldn't wait to visit the candy store he'd seen just a few shops over.

"I'll need you to sign this," Pete said, handing Mark a receipt.

Mark gulped. He'd forgotten about that. He was sure he and the man whose body he now controlled had different names. Mark looked over the receipt, sighing silently with relief when he saw a name- Marc Kohan. Mark quickly put his signature on the thin paper, and, by sheer luck, had nearly the same penmanship as Marc.

"Hey Pete," Mark said, "I'm going to be doing a lot more shopping so do you think you could hold onto this stuff until I come back?"

Pete smiled. "Sure thing," he answered, taking the bag and putting it behind the counter, "I just need your name."

"Marc Kohan," Mark said simply, the familiar name rolling off this tongue with ease.


End file.
